Social media platforms are under scrutiny in various countries, especially in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. In Vietnam, anonymity on social media may soon be removed as authorities plan to link user accounts to its national digital identity system. Meanwhile, Turkey is investigating the data-processing practices of major social media platforms to ensure children’s online safety.
Turkey reviews FB, Discord, IG, TikTok, and X
Turkey’s data protection watchdog—the Personal Data Protection Authority—announced that the Personal Data Protection Board has launched an official review of popular social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook (NASDAQ: META), YouTube, X, and Discord, local news outlet Turkish Minute said on February 21.
The watchdog will examine how the platforms process children’s personal data and assess the safeguards in place, citing the need to protect the “best interests of the child” online.
The move follows the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which is expected to submit a draft of a “family package” bill to parliament. The bill would require social media platforms to verify their users’ identities via phone numbers or through the government’s e-Devlet digital services system, the country’s electronic government gateway that has 68,193,133 users as of February 2026.
Under the proposed regulation, children under 15 are barred from opening social media accounts, and an additional biometric restriction would be introduced for users under 18. Platforms that fail to comply with the verification and/or removal process could face penalties, such as reductions in internet bandwidth, as regulators have already imposed in prior enforcement actions.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek defended the proposed draft bill, saying anonymous accounts fuel harassment and interfere with judicial proceedings, and claimed that verified IDs would ensure accountability. However, critics such as Kerem Altıparmak, a legal scholar with the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), argued that the proposal would constitute a radical restriction on internet freedom and could lead to broader access limits that narrow online debate nationwide.
Vietnam moves to link social media accounts to national digital ID system
Elsewhere, Vietnam is developing regulations to link social media platforms to the VNeID system, the country’s digital identity system. Vietnam sees the enhanced online authentication as a way to secure the nation’s digital space.
The new security measure was outlined in the 2026 work program of Vietnam’s Central Steering Committee on Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation, which was signed and issued by General Secretary To Lam early this year. Under the new plan, authorities must find technical solutions by Q3 of 2026 to link social media platforms with VNeID. All social media accounts must be tied to verified identities, in line with Vietnamese law and international commitments.
The Ministry of Public Security will draft a Law on Electronic Identification and Authentication and further develop VNeID into a national “super platform” for accessing government services. The government of Vietnam aims to create a single digital account for citizens and enterprises, ensuring it can handle heavy traffic and expand the country’s digital economy.
The initiative outlines specific targets for 2026, like the following:
- 14.5% contribution of the digital economy by 2026
- The contribution of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation must reach 17.5% GDP
- At least 80% of the information and documents related to production and business should be submitted once
- All business administrative procedures are expected to be processed seamlessly online
The move follows earlier regulationss, such as Directive 57, issued by the Party Central Committee in December 2025, which mandates identity verification for all social media and telecom subscribers, as well as for domain names and IP addresses. As well as Decree 147, which requires social network users’ accounts to be authenticated through their Vietnamese mobile phone numbers or ID numbers, which came into effect in December 2024. Meanwhile, the Personal Data Protection Law, effective January 2026, sets limits on how platforms collect images or videos of ID documents for authentication.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/turkey-reviews-social-media-platforms-vietnam-eyes-id-link/
